From the #1
New York Times
bestselling author of the Penn Cage series and the Natchez Burning trilogy comes “a steamy, swampy tale of international nastiness” (
Kirkus Reviews
) in an electrifying thriller that reveals a world of depravity, sex, violence, and corruption in a Southern town.
Penn Cage was elected mayor of Natchez, Mississippi—the hometown he returned to after the death of his wife—on a tide of support for change. But two years into his term, casino gambling has proved a sure bet for bringing in new jobs and fresh money to this fading jewel of the Old South. But deep inside the
Magnolia Queen
, a fantastical repurposed steamboat, a depraved hidden world draws high-stakes players with money to burn on their unquenchable taste for blood sport and the dark vices that go with it.
When a childhood friend hands him blood-chilling evidence, Penn must beat the odds tracking a sophisticated killer who counters his every move, placing those nearest to him—including his young daughter, his renowned physician father, and a lover from the past—in grave danger, and all at the risk of jeopardizing forever the town he loves.
With his gift for crafting “a keep-you-engaged-to-the-very-last-page thriller” (
USA TODAY
) at full throttle, Greg Iles brings back Penn Cage—the sharply honed, unforgettable hero from his most popular novels—in this electrifying suspense masterpiece.